Borussia Dortmund play host to Mainz 05 at Westfalenstadion on Saturday knowing that a victory will be enough to clinch their first Bundesliga title in 11 years.
BVB lead the way at the summit heading into the final game of the season, sitting two points clear of perennial German top-flight winners Bayern Munich in second place.
Match preview
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Just under a year on from selling goal machine Erling Braut Haaland, few would have envisaged Borussia Dortmund perched at the top of the Bundesliga table with one game remaining, but head coach Edin Terzic is hoping to become the first BVB boss since Jurgen Klopp to win the title and finally end a decade of Bayern dominance.
The Black and Yellows have capitalised on Bayern's faltering form in recent weeks and have accumulated 17 points from their last 21 available, convincingly winning each of their last three matches against Wolfsburg, Borussia Monchengladbach and Augsburg by an aggregate score of 14-2.
A 6-0 thrashing of Wolfsburg and a 5-2 triumph over Monchengladbach were followed by a 3-0 home victory against 10-man Augsburg last Sunday courtesy of goals from Sebastian Haller (2) and Julian Brandt, a day after Bayern had lost 3-1 at home to RB Leipzig.
Dortmund were nine points adrift of former league leaders Bayern after matchday 15, but they have since gradually closed the gap before claiming top spot last weekend, becoming the first team since Stuttgart in 2006-07 to move to the Bundesliga summit within the final two matchdays.
BVB will be confident of securing the three points that they require to clinch top spot and the title on Saturday, as they boast the best home record in the Bundesliga this season, winning 14 and drawing one of their 16 matches at Westfalenstadion. An ongoing run of 11 straight home victories, dating back to October, is also their best since a club-record streak of 12 back in 1994.
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Between February 11 and April 22, Mainz put together an impressive 10-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, the longest of any side in the division during that period.
Such a streak had seen Bo Svensson's side soar up the top-flight standings and put them in contention to claim a European qualification spot for the first time since 2015-16.
However, hopes of a top-seven finish for Mainz have since been quashed after suffering four successive league defeats, conceding at least three goals in each game including last weekend's 4-1 loss at home to relegation-threatened Stuttgart.
Marcus Ingvartsen had put the 05ers in front midway through the first half, but Wataru Endo restored parity for the visitors on the stroke of half time before the hosts suffered a second-half collapse, conceding three goals in the final 26 minutes and were eventually condemned to back-to-back home losses for the first time this season.
Mainz currently sit ninth in the Bundesliga table and can only finish as high as eighth place, with just two points separating them from Eintracht Frankfurt, although ending the season on a positive note could prove challenging against a title-chasing Dortmund outfit whom they have beaten just once in their last nine league meetings.
Team News
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Borussia Dortmund will be without injured duo Thomas Meunier (adductor) and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (shoulder), while Soumaila Coulibaly is away on international duty with France at the Under-20s World Cup.
Star midfielder Jude Bellingham missed the win over Augsburg with a minor knee injury, but the teenager is available to return on Saturday and could start in the middle of the pitch along with Brandt and Emre Can.
Fresh from signing a new contract with BVB, experienced defender Mats Hummels is set to start as captain at the back, and the former Bayern man is hoping to become the first player in Bundesliga history to win at least three titles with two different clubs.
Giovanni Reyna, who scored a 93rd-minute winner in a 2-1 victory over Mainz earlier this season, will be hoping to force his way into the first XI, although Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi are the most likely duo to join Haller in attack.
As for Mainz, Jonathan Burkardt (knee), Alexander Hack (groin), Silvan Widmer (ankle) and Maxim Leitsch (match fitness) are all in the treatment room, while Ludovic Ajorque is ruled out through suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
However, Andreas Hanche-Olsen is available to return from a one-match ban of his own and is expected to slot back into the three-man defence at the expense of Aymen Barkok, with Dominik Kohr moving into centre-midfield alongside Leandro Barreiro.
Anton Stach will likely push into an advanced midfield role to support attackers Ingvartsen and Karim Onisiwo, who have scored 19 league goals between them this season.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Wolf, Sule, Hummels, Ryerson; Brandt, Can, Bellingham; Malen, Haller, Adeyemi
Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:
Zentner; Hanche-Olsen, Bell, Fernandes; Da Costa, Barreiro, Kohr, Caci; Stach, Ingvartsen; Onisiwo
We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Mainz 05
Mainz came out on top against Bayern at the end of last month and they will hope to end their campaign on a high by claiming maximum points on Saturday, spoiling Dortmund's title party in the process.
However, we cannot see this rampant BVB side being stopped in their tracks, and while there may be some nervy moments during the contest, Terzic's men should do enough to clinch the club's ninth Bundesliga title.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
